Barrier assemblies are provided for balconies, stairways, pathing, plazas, pool surrounds and many domestic, commercial and industrial applications. Many barrier constructions include a top rail, and if at an appropriate height, the rail is in the form of a handrail. A wide variety of post and rail designs, with and without infill panels are known. Existing designs suffer from a range of problems. For instance, with commonly used welded stainless steel handrails, the butt welds between lengths of stainless steel handrail require considerable on site work in order to provide an aesthetically pleasing and structurally sound continuous handrail. Some designs use unsightly bolts or other fixings. Other problems with existing designs include complexity of on site assembly, finger entrapment cavities and sharp edges. Where top rails, including handrails, are required to deviate from simple straight and right angle bend layouts, there is often a need for prefabrication to occur off site.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an assembly that overcomes at least some of the above-identified problems.